Waste Connections Stock Barely Moves Since Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates

Waste Connections, Inc. WCN reported impressive third-quarter 2025 results, wherein earnings and revenues outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimates.

The stock price has not witnessed any significant impact of the earnings beat since the company released results on Oct. 21.

Waste Connections’ adjusted earnings (excluding 33 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.44 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.4% and increased 6.7% year over year. Revenues of $2.5 billion beat the consensus estimate marginally and grew 5.1% from the year-ago quarter.

WCN shares have declined 5.4% over the past three months compared with the industry's 4% fall and against the 6.1% rally of the Zacks S&P 500 Composite.

WCN’s Q3 Segmental Information

The Solid Waste Collection segment’s revenues grew 6.6% year over year to $1.7 billion and met our estimate. The Solid Waste Disposal and Transfer segment’s revenues increased marginally from the year-ago quarter to $456.4 million and beat our projection of $440.6 million.

The Solid Waste Recycling segment’s revenues decreased 16.2% on a year-over-year basis to $56.2 million. The figure missed our estimate of $66.1 million. The Intermodal and Other segment’s revenues declined 10.4% from the year-ago quarter to $42 million, which missed our forecast of $49 million.

The E&P Waste Treatment, Recovery and Disposal segment’s revenues rose 21.6% from the year-ago quarter to $179.1 million, outpacing our estimate of $171.9 million.

Waste Connections’ Operating Results

Adjusted EBITDA in the reported quarter was $787.4 million, down 5.4% from the year-ago quarter. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 33.7%, which decreased 10 basis points from the year-ago quarter.

Operating income totaled $439.6 million compared with the year-ago quarter’s $475.3 million.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow

Waste Connections exited the third quarter of 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $117.6 million compared with $110.2 million at the end of the preceding quarter. The long-term debt was $8.6 billion compared with the preceding quarter’s $8.3 billion.

In the reported quarter, WCN generated $677.4 million in cash from operating activities. The adjusted free cash flow was $384.6 million. Capital expenditure totaled $297.2 million. The company paid out $81 million worth of dividends in the quarter.

WCN’s FY25 Outlook

For 2025, the company expected revenues of $9.45 billion, lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.46 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is anticipated to be $3.12 billion, which is nearly 33% of the top line.

Waste Connections carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Earnings Snapshot

Equifax Inc. EFX reported impressive third-quarter 2025 results.

EFX’s adjusted earnings were $2.04 per share, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.7% and increasing 10.3% from the year-ago quarter. Total revenues of $1.5 billion surpassed the consensus estimate by 1.5% and grew 6.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Paychex, Inc. PAYX posted impressive first-quarter fiscal 2026 results.

PAYX’s fiscal first-quarter earnings of $1.22 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a slight margin and increased 5.2% from the year-ago quarter. Total revenues of $1.5 billion surpassed the consensus estimate by a slight margin and gained 16.8% from the year-ago quarter.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research